Devices and methods of transferring or printing images on apparel, blankets, towels, and the like are well known. Such images often appear in the form of sports figures, sports teams, music bands, fictional characters, family portraits, and the like. At least one known device used to adhere an image onto a piece of fabric is through appliqué. Generally speaking, the term appliqué refers to a decoration coupled to a larger piece of material. An appliqué is normally created by cutting a first piece of material and coupling the first piece of material to the surface of another larger piece of material. Such coupling normally occurs through sewing, the application of heat and pressure, or through the use of an alternative adhesive. Unfortunately, creating an appliqué can be a tedious and time consuming task, not only because a user must first cut along the pattern of the decoration, but also because the user must sew or otherwise couple the decoration to the larger piece of fabric.
Another known method of printing an image onto a piece of material is screen printing. Such method involves using a mesh to transfer ink onto the material, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade, squeegee, or the like is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh apertures with the ink, and a reverse stroke then causes the screen to touch the material briefly along a line of contact. Such process causes the ink to wet the material and be pulled out of the mesh apertures as the screen springs back once the blade or squeegee has passed. Unfortunately, a user must take into account the diameter of the threads used and the thread count of the mesh, as such factors determine the amount of ink that is deposited onto the material. As an added disadvantage, the material must be adequately spread out prior to the ink transfer in order to produce a clear image.
There are also a number of disadvantages that exist with regard to printing fabrics by ink jet processes, because the ink deposited onto fabric by the ink jet process is often characterized by a very low viscosity. As such, the ink is prone to spreading on the fabric, thereby creating a distorted image. Further, select fabrics, such as blankets made of a fleece material, include a texture that enhances or promotes ink spreading, thereby resulting in a finished product that is blurry or otherwise exhibits a poor image quality. Even if the image is placed on the material's nap in a clear manner, when the nap is moved, the image will appear distorted.
Digital textile printing is another known method of printing an image onto a piece of material. Unfortunately, the dyes often used with digital textile printing fail to completely fix within the fibers of the fabric. As a result, the fabric may need to be washed and dried in order to wash the unfixed dyes from the fabric. Unfortunately, the printed textile images are al so susceptible to degrading or fading when the fabric is washed.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above.